Adjustments
by jylener22
Summary: Ichigo and Orihime are now married and over the years, slowly they have to make adjustments in their day to day living. Tears and laughter and a few instances of panic will color their lives together and make their love stronger.
1. Fighting

Adjustments: Part 1

Running footsteps on the stairs, then a teary voice says, "You don't care!" right before the sound of a slamming door signals the end of an unexpected drama.

Throwing his arms over his head, Ichigo stalked toward the front hall, put on his winter outer clothes and prepared to storm out of the door. Pausing for a moment, Ichigo mulled over whether to deliver one final blow before he made his exit or just let the slamming door speak for him. Then he remembered the slight stinging on his cheek and turned to bellow up the stairs, "You're right! I don't care!" before he stepped out and banged the door behind him.

Walking away from the house, Ichigo barely registered that he should probably pay more attention to where he's going since the possibility of slipping on ice would do absolutely nothing to improve his foul mood. Fortunately for him, no one was out and walking around anywhere near him, since spending the night in prison for unnecessary violence would definitely deepen Ichigo's scowl and make it stormier than it had been for years.

After a time, Ichigo began to allow the frigid temperature to seep through his broiling skin in order to bring his body and mind into a more agreeable state. His pace slowed and his eyes registered a bench nearby that was not covered with wet, white powder and lowered his tall frame onto the bench. Eventually, with only the very faint sound of his own slowed breathing breaking the tentative silence surrounding him, Ichigo allowed his thoughts to trace back to less than an hour ago…when it all began.

Actually, after spending several minutes racking his brain trying to piece together the broken memories, Ichigo gave a frustrated grunt when he realized that he had absolutely no idea how they had even started fighting or even what the fight had really been about. He and Orihime had had their disagreements way back when they were dating, and even in the first year of their marriage they had bickered over little things but had always been able to work things out quickly. Now going on three years after the wedding, for the past month or so the number of disagreements had escalated over stupid and petty things. His memories of his mother and father together were nothing like this. They had been happy and loving towards one another and had never argued as far as he could tell. Ichigo knew love had to last through good times and bad, but he had caught himself a few times wondering if it would have been better never to marry at all. As soon as that thought rose, Ichigo would squelch the idea immediately, but the fact that he had even considered such a thing scared him.

Rubbing a hand across his face, Ichigo thought to himself that he never should have let things escalate to this point of stress in his marriage and especially in his job at the hospital. The two were influencing the other so much that he couldn't sit in peace anymore. Either he was on edge at the hospital because he had just argued again with Orihime and he couldn't stand being caught in the middle of all the drama at work, or he would go home worn out from dealing with his coworkers and became unreasonably irritable at little things because he had no other outlet. This was not a recipe for a healthy marriage and he knew it. There were times that he had almost told Orihime about all that was going on at work, but then he thought it would be better not to burden her with all his complaints. He really didn't want to bring the problems of work back home with him, but it seemed he was doing just that.

While there had been plenty of fights and arguments in the Kurosaki residence, Ichigo couldn't remember a time when he had ever felt so uncomfortable and unsettled. He knew Orihime felt the same way since he had caught some of the glances that she directed his way every so often. He knew that she still loved him and he still desperately needed her, but they had to figure out some way of working this out. The sooner the better.

Running a hand through his hair, Ichigo decided that he would let Orihime in on everything that had been happening at work. If nothing else, he knew that Orihime would listen attentively and sympathetically and that was just what he needed right now, Ichigo thought to himself.

With a grunt of determination, Ichigo rose and began making his way back towards his home, new purpose in his stride. They could make this work. They could get through anything together. Nobody's perfect, especially himself, and they would find a way to make their relationship and marriage stronger despite the struggles they were having right now. They had been divided before, but hopefully they could reunite and move forward after this.

Ichigo was so completely engrossed in his thoughts of reconciliation that he didn't notice the wheeled vehicle swiftly approaching him from behind, swerving back and forth across the road, until it was too late…


	2. Forgiveness

Adjustments: Part 2

Orihime had finished crying surprisingly quickly this time around. Lately, she had been becoming quite emotional over the most ridiculous things, but now she understood why. She had made sure today before she came home from work that she wasn't mistaken, but there was no error. She was pregnant. The news had excited her at first and she had been impatient to get home that day in order to tell Ichigo the wonderful news. However, when she arrived, she had discovered Ichigo brooding in the living room over something that seemed to trouble him deeply.

Orihime had been sensing that Ichigo had been troubled about something for quite some time, but she had always told herself that he would come forward when he was ready, just like they had always done. Now, over a month later, Ichigo still hadn't come forward and they were beginning to argue because he was stressed and she was emotional. Not a good combination, especially since he was used to his family not always getting along but being able to work out their differences eventually, while she did not like confrontation or disagreement especially within the home since she had lived alone most of her life and the last disagreement she had with a family member had been with Sora just before he died.  
>Even though their fights had never escalated beyond raised voices and slamming doors, Orihime couldn't help but wonder if there was some other way for them to deal with their differences. Upon discovering that she was pregnant, Orihime had had visions of her and Ichigo yelling at each other while their children sat in other rooms, afraid because their parents were fighting. Despite the fact that Orihime knew that she would honor the vow "till death do us part" and she knew that he felt the same way about their marriage vows and would never abuse her or their children, still the fact that they couldn't seem to get past this stage left her feeling isolated since she felt that their home together was no longer a safe haven from the rest of the world where she and Ichigo could be at ease with each other.<p>

A loud knock on the door snapped Orihime out of her musings and she went to answer the summons. When she opened the door, Orihime was greeted in the usual fashion by her long-time friend.

"Hey, are you going to let me freeze out here?"

"No, of course not! Come in Tatsuki!"

Orihime stepped aside and allowed her friend to enter. After having deposited Tatsuki's winter clothes in the proper places about the front hall, Orihime ushered Tatsuki into the living room.

"You must be frozen. Would you like some tea or something hot to drink?"

Tatsuki considered for a moment before she answered, "I'll take some tea."

"I won't be a moment," said Orihime as she made her way into the kitchen.

As she went about getting the tea ready, Tatsuki's voice asked, "So where's Ichigo? His shift should have been over long before now."

Orihime paused for a moment before she said in a cheery voice, "Oh, he just went out for a walk or something. Maybe to pick up another box of that new flavor of ramen that he wanted to try."

Turning around to get the cups, Orihime nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Tatsuki standing in the kitchen doorway. The expression on her face spoke volumes so that she almost didn't have to ask the next question.

"What happened?"

Orihime managed to keep her composure for a few seconds before she broke down completely. As Orihime cried, Tatsuki gently grasped her arm, guided her over to the kitchen table and nonverbally asked Orihime to sit in a chair before Tatsuki sat down next to Orihime. It was a little while before Orihime was able to speak in an unsteady voice.

"What is wrong with me? Actually I know what's wrong with me, that much is for sure, but I can't understand why I keep crying like this. I really shouldn't be crying like this! Ichigo and I should be really happy and talking together, but I just can't seem to do anything right lately. I'm too clingy and I am not thinking about how Ichigo feels right now and being very insensitive to him. He comes home from work all worn out and stressed and all I can think about is myself and how I feel. What kind of a wife thinks only of herself?"

Throughout this entire weepy confession, Tatsuki had sat perfectly still, her face betraying not the slightest hint of her thoughts or reactions to Orihime's words. As Orihime finished, Tatsuki settled herself more comfortably in her chair before she began talking.

"Is that all?"

Orihime looked at her friend with tear-filled eyes, "I think so."

Tatsuki slowly took in a breath before she asked, "So what are you going to do about it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it sounds to me that you and Ichigo are not getting along right at the moment and that both of you are having a pretty rough time in different areas. Ichigo at his work and if I had to guess, you are going to be needing to add some new furniture around here to make room for a little someone."

Before Orihime could ask, Tatsuki went on, "I've known you for years, Orihime. You've been through some difficult situations throughout your life, but this is the very first time I've ever seen you break down over me just asking you a question. Either you're pregnant or you need some serious therapy and Ichigo needs a good beating. As for Ichigo, I saw him not to long ago as I was walking over here. He looked really upset about something. Besides, others have said that he looks really stressed when he leaves the hospital after his shifts."

Orihime hung her head, "I don't know what to do. He won't tell me what's wrong and I don't want to force him to tell me, but I'm really worried about him."

"Have you tried asking him directly?"

"No. In the past, he would talk to me when he was ready. I don't want to pry or seem pushy."

"In this case, he needs to speak to someone. You lived with you brother for a while, but then you spent most of your life living on your own, so you have not really had to deal with confronting people. Ichigo had his family all his life, so he is used to people asking direct questions and for those he trusts implicitly, he will open up to them about things that trouble him. You are his new family now, so you are going to have to get used to dealing with things directly in the home rather than outside it."

Orihime was about to answer, when the phone rang. Tatsuki motioned for Orihime to stay where she was as Tatsuki rose to retrieve the phone.

"Hello? Who is this? This is Tatsuki. Is that you Keigo? Would you please speak at a normal decibel level? They can hear you all the way in San Francisco the way you're…put Mizuiro on the phone. You're not making any sense, Keigo. Hello, Mizuiro? What's going on? What? What do you mean Ichigo was hit?"

Orihime had risen when she heard faint but distinct noises of panic on the other end of the line before Mizuiro had switched with Keigo. The feeling of foreboding rose to a fever pitch upon hearing the last sentence that Tatsuki spoke. Without bothering to put on a coat or any shoes other than her house slippers, Orihime dashed to the front door and barreled out into the winter night.

Instinctively, Orihime's senses seemed to know right where Ichigo was and so she followed those feelings. As she ran, broken memories ran through her mind fueling her panic and driving her legs to move faster. Images of her brother leaving the house dejectedly after their small argument and of Sora lying so still and pale as they rushed him off to the clinic where he later died. She didn't remember much of the funeral, everything had seemed to blur together in a haze of disbelief and dull heartache. The thought that she had lost her husband the same way kept racing through her mind. The thought that she was responsible for driving them both away to their deaths haunted her. She was to blame. She was to blame. She was to blame.

After a while, she noticed a group of people congregating up ahead of her with two police cars parked on the side of the street. Unaware of what she was doing, she somehow managed to get through the crowd to the front before she stopped to get her bearings. It took her no more than five seconds to locate Keigo and Mizuiro along with Uryu and Chad nearby, but her eyes were riveted on a motionless figure over on their right side.

Ichigo lay stretched out on his side in a mound of snow with some coats underneath and over top of him. Just as she was about to relax, she noticed a small pool of blood near his head. Before anyone had time to react, Orihime rushed over and threw herself over Ichigo's body crying like her heart would break.

"Ichigo! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please, Ichigo forgive me! I'm so sorry! You can't die yet, please! Please forgive me!"

Orihime felt Ichigo move underneath her and looked up as he turned over on his back and looked at her sleepily before he said, "Who said I was going to die?"

Her reply was to bury her face in his chest and sob so that it was fairly difficult to make out what she was saying, "I heard Mizuiro say you were hit and I was sure you were going to die just like Sora did. Before I got a chance to apologize to him, he was hit by a car and I never got to show him how beautiful those pins were. I thought you were dead too and I would never be able to apologize to you either or have a chance to tell you about the baby. I was so scared."

Ichigo reached up and began stroking Orihime's hair as he said softly, "I'm sorry too. I've been so stressed and upset about things going on at work, but I come home and take it out on you and you don't deserve that. Especially now that…" His hand stopped as he tried to remember the last part Orihime had weepily said.

Gingerly pushing himself up to a sitting position, Ichigo pulled Orihime away until he could look into her eyes.

"Did you say what I think you just said?"

Orihime looked confused, "About what?"

"Say that last part again."

Confused tone, "I was scared?"

"No, before that."

Orihime gave him a shaky but glowing smile as she leaned forward and kissed him gently, "Hello Daddy Ichigo Kurosaki."

It took a few moments before Ichigo fully processed the information, but as it began to sink in a grin started to spread over his face.

Before Ichigo could say anything, a police officer walked over, "So we have both your statements and that guy is getting in serious trouble since this isn't the first time he's done this. Are you sure you're going to be ok?"

Ichigo nodded, "I'm a doctor, so I know that with a little rest and a couple of aspirins, I should be fine in a day or two. Thanks Officer."

"No problem. And I couldn't help but overhear," the officer extended his hand, "Congratulations. You have a beautiful wife so I'm sure you kid will be good looking too."

Taking the proffered hand, Ichigo said, "Thanks. I appreciate your help."

Orihime said, "What happened?"

The officer answered, "A guy was riding his moped through the snow, a really dumb idea since those things aren't really made for it. Anyway, this guy was rather drunk and was weaving all over the road and knocked your husband over."

Ichigo finished, "I wasn't paying attention and felt something push me over and I fell and cracked my head against the sidewalk pretty hard, but not hard enough for a concussion. Just have some sore muscles and a couple bruises. Nothing serious."

Orihime reached up and softly brushed her fingers over the scrape along Ichigo's forehead and said in a hushed tone, "Be honest with me, please. Are you sure you're fine?"

Ichigo responded by standing up and sweeping his wife into his arms and holding her firmly yet gently against his chest. Orihime was too shocked to protest at first, but before she could open her mouth to say anything, she thought better of it and simply laid her head against her husband's shoulder. Ichigo smiled and without another word, he carried his wife home. Life was not going to be perfect, but Ichigo had a good feeling that their relationship had taken a turn for the better after this last argument.


	3. Serenity

Adjustments: Part 3

"Look! Don't worry about me. I'm making dinner so just sit and relax!"

"But I feel so useless if I'm not doing something! Please at least let me set the table."

Ichigo sighed in resignation and Orihime glowed with pride as she made her way over to the cupboard to retrieve the needed dishware for the evening meal.

Watching his wife happily go about arranging the dishes on the table, he couldn't help but be grateful that they had managed to understand each other and the way that they dealt with differences or arguments early on in Orihime's pregnancy so that they had a better idea of how they might handle things properly in the future. Orihime had been about two months along when she had discovered that she was pregnant, and now here she was at five months and they were trying to prepare for not just one but three babies at the same time.

He had been really surprised that he had taken the news so well, Orihime and his sisters as well. It was his dad and friends that had the most animated reactions when they heard that he and Orihime were going to have triplets. His dad had passed out in the kitchen and woken up very unlike himself in that he was very quiet and reflective for a time. Unfortunately, once the initial shock had passed, Ichigo had had to intercept Isshin from almost flattening Orihime in one of his signature bear hugs…twice.

As for everyone else, Tatsuki and the gang had thought they were joking for a while until Orihime almost started crying in frustration since no one seemed to be taking them seriously. Their Soul Reaper friends had caught on sooner, all except for Renji until Rukia had finally knocked him upside the head and told him to shut up and quit making himself look like such an idiot. Upon hearing the news, Rangiku had gone into raptures on trying to discuss just about everything from choosing names for all three to selecting baby furniture with Orihime immediately. Up until then, Ichigo and Orihime had simply been enjoying the fact that they were going to start a family, but neither had given much thought to how they were going to begin arranging their life to make room for these three little ones. Just as they had done with the wedding, Ichigo and Orihime had given a little input into how to arrange things for their offspring but mostly left Rangiku and Yuzu to do most of the planning since they both thrived on such activity.

A movement from Orihime brought Ichigo's mind back to the present, "You ok?"

Orihime smiled, "Oh, two of them decided to start wrestling while the other thought it would be funny to shove his foot up under my ribs."

Ichigo put on a mock scowl and knelt down in front of his wife's protruding middle and gently massaged where he felt the most movement as he said, "What do you think you're doing in there? You guys aren't living in a gym right now."

Orihime laughed as she laid one hand over her active children and the other on her husband's head, "They are just like their father. Always on the move and impatient to do something useful. They are tired of lying around in here and think they're ready to see the world."

Ichigo laughed, "Well as ready as they are, I don't think the world is quite ready for them yet."

Orihime smiled, "You and I know that, but try explaining to them that we aren't ready for them yet. They seem to put up even more of a fuss."

Ichigo suddenly remembered something and changed topics, "Can I ask you something?"

Orihime looked perplexed, "Yes…of course."

"If I remember correctly, you said that you were going to talk with your supervisor today about maternity leave and changing your schedule even after the kids are born. How did it go?"

Orihime smiled, "Oh that," she turned to grab a plate of food from the kitchen as she answered, "Dr. Tendo was very understanding about my desire to stay home and raise our children, but was quite delighted to hear that I would still come in a couple times a month after my maternity leave is up. I really think we made a good decision that works for everyone. Paying all the important bills with your salary and using mine to help with purchasing furniture and any other small things we might need. Speaking of work, how are things going with you?"

Ichigo gave a deep sigh and scowled as he ran a hand through his hair, "I will be happy when this whole thing blows over. Whoever leaked that they were planning on firing someone really needs to be taught a lesson since it's caused nothing but pain and suffering for the past few months. They also need to get their act together and fire someone already because I am tired of almost all the doctors and nurses paying more attention to gossiping about who is going to be let go than on doing their job in the first place. None of them seem to understand that if they would take care of the patients more the likelihood that they are going to be let go is significantly lessened."

Orihime grasped his hand and said, "C'mon," as she led him over to a couch in the room adjacent to their kitchen/dining room. Ichigo was about to protest when he thought better and simply allowed himself to be guided to a seat on the couch next to his wife. After she had settled herself comfortably, she mildly tugged on Ichigo's arm until his head rested in her lap. Sighing half with resignation half with contentment, Ichigo adjusted himself until he was stretched out along the couch and able to look up into Orihime's face. With one hand on her stomach, Orihime used the other to gently massage Ichigo's scalp. They remained in that attitude for several minutes, simply allowing the other's presence to sooth away the day's aches and pains and were grateful that they were able to do so once again.

After a time, Ichigo felt a small foot kick against his cheek and said, "Looks like they're on the move again," he said as he stood up, "All right, all right. I'll go finish dinner."

Without speaking, Orihime pulled Ichigo down to her once more and before Ichigo could ask what was going on, Orihime put her hands on either side of his face and kissed him. Ichigo kissed her back eagerly and didn't pull back until he felt Orihime jerk slightly and put her hands over her stomach.

"Let me guess, they all complained this time?"

Orihime's response was to smile as Ichigo made his way to the kitchen to finish up dinner. Everything was simple, yet satisfying, and the two of them talked about anything that came to mind. It was a very comfortable and pleasant evening and one of the last they would have for a time.


	4. Turbulence

Adjustments: Part 4

Ichigo moved automatically through the halls of the hospital, barely registering where he was going. What had just happened? Out of all the scenarios that had been going through his mind about why he had been summoned into that conference with the Board of Directors, nothing could have prepared him for what they were going to do to him. Everything still felt surreal.

Ichigo felt a hand grasp his arm and pull him around until he was face to face with his colleague, Dr. Saito, who said, "Something the matter Dr. Kurosaki?"

"I'm not sure," Ichigo replied in a daze.

Dr. Saito nodded in understanding as he patted Ichigo on the back, "I'm sorry, Dr. Kurosaki. I can't imagine what you're going through right now, but don't worry things will get better. I'm sure you'll find another job really quick. With your work ethic, I'll bet there are lots of hospitals that would love to have you."

Ichigo's brow furrowed in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

Dr. Saito gave Ichigo a knowing look, leaned in closer and said in a conspiratorial whisper, "You were the one fired, weren't you?"

Ichigo shook his head, "No, I think they gave me a promotion."

Dr. Saito stood stock still as Ichigo suddenly realized that he only had to check up on one more patient before he could go home and tell Orihime the good news. Excusing himself from the dumbfounded doctor, Ichigo went briskly through the halls and went about his work with new vigor in his step. After revealing the truth to someone else, it was now easier for Ichigo to believe that the event had actually happened. He had been promoted and they had given him a significant pay raise as well. There would be more work involved, obviously, but who was he to argue with that? All those months that everyone else had been more concerned with gossiping, he had been going about his work diligently and it had paid off in the end. He couldn't help but feel a little bit proud that his hard work had been recognized, he knew however that he would have worked just as hard even if there had not been a possible promotion. Orihime would feel the same way, he was sure of it.

At long last, Ichigo was free to go home and all he could think of on the car trip was how fortunate he was. He had a beautiful and loving wife, three children on the way, family and friends who could drive him crazy but who always came through when he needed them and a job that was meaningful to him. Life was good.

"Orihime!" Ichigo called as he entered the house, "Orihime, it's finally over! You'll never believe what happened!"

As Ichigo began to remove his shoes and jacket, he heard Orihime's voice come faintly from upstairs, so he spoke as he moved to the upper floor, "Oh Orihime! Things are going to be different! I feel like going out and celebrating. Where do you want t-Orihime!"

The last word was shouted in a tone of panic as Ichigo spotted his wife lying on the floor and clutching her stomach. Ichigo knelt at her side and gently brushed away the hair from Orihime's sweating forehead as he tried to remain calm.

"Orihime, can you hear me?"

Orihime's eyes opened and Ichigo's heart clenched at the look of pure despair on his wife's countenance as she whispered, "I'm so sorry, Ichigo. I don't know what it is, but something's wrong."

Ichigo kissed her forehead and said, "Don't apologize. Everything's going to be fine."

Reaching into his pocket, Ichigo withdrew his cellphone and called the emergency services. After he hung up, Ichigo thought for a moment and then proceeded to contact his family. He finally managed to get a hold of Karin after trying his dad and Yuzu first and told her what was going on. Later on, Ichigo would think back and be immensely grateful that Karin had been the only one to answer simply because she did tend to be very level-headed in times of crisis.

"I'll be there with Dad and Yuzu as soon as I can," Karin told Ichigo, "Focus on Orihime. She needs you now."

"Thanks Karin," he replied, "See you there."

As Ichigo hung up, the bleak reality of what might be going on hit him like a ton of bricks. He and Orihime had known from the beginning that the likelihood of their triplets being born early was extremely high, but this still seemed too early in his opinion. However, his opinion meant absolutely nothing at this point since it wasn't going to make a bit of difference over what was happening to his wife. His anxiety increased as he suddenly realized that throughout the entire ordeal, Orihime had not uttered one cry of pain. Looking over at her, Ichigo saw her lying almost completely motionless with a look of agony on her face. All the medical training in the world could not have steeled him for the feeling of complete helplessness passing over him as he realized that there was nothing he could do for her besides wait and try to comfort her. Ichigo mentally shook himself out of his stupor, went over to his wife, gently lifted her into his arms and held her against his chest.

"Hang in there, Orihime. Help will be here soon."

Orihime's response was to take one hand away from her middle and to grasp Ichigo's free hand tightly as he went on, "I'm sorry for being so useless. You would think because I'm a doctor that I should be able to handle something like this, but my mind's a total blank right now. Guess the board might reconsider giving that promotion if they ever saw how incompetent I am when dealing with my own wife's health."

Orihime spoke in a weak tone, "You were promoted?"

Ichigo smiled at her, "I was. When they called me to the meeting room, I thought for sure that I was being let go, but instead they promoted me."

Orihime's cold hand squeezed lightly on Ichigo's own as she said, "Oh Ichigo. That's wonderful."

Ichigo leaned down and kissed her hair as he said, "Thanks. That means a lot."

Orihime was about to speak again when a wave of pain coursed through her body, causing her to give a small whimper and grasp Ichigo's hand tighter as he was left helplessly holding his wife. It seemed to be a near eternity before the ambulance arrived, and for years afterward Ichigo had almost no recollection of anything that transpired the entire ride from the house to the hospital or even in the delivery room. However, if you were to ask what Ichigo did remember from that day, he could describe in great detail every look of suffering that crossed Orihime's face and every time that his heart nearly stopped from having to witness such an event. Time blurred together and voices became indistinct with only Orihime staying in clear focus. Later on he would discover that the doctors had to perform an emergency c-section in order to deliver the babies.

Another eternity passed before he was brought back to reality by the words, "Mr. Kurosaki, your daughters are cleaned off and doing fine. Would you like to see them?"

Looking at the nurse in confusion, Ichigo looked over to where the nurse was gesturing and saw two small bundles wrapped in pink lying across the room. Walking over to where they lay enclosed by a plastic cover, Ichigo laid a hand over each of his daughters as he gazed at them. Their small bodies looked as though they would fit almost perfectly in each hand. Slowly sinking to his knees in front of his children, Ichigo felt the stress of the past eternity fade away as he basked in the delight of greeting his daughters to the world.

In a voice that only he could hear, Ichigo said to them, "My beautiful girls. My beautiful girls."

Turning to look at Orihime, Ichigo caught his wife's tired gaze watching him with mixed emotions. Moving back over to Orihime's side, Ichigo knelt down next to her, took her hand in his and buried his face against her arm breathing in her fresh scent. She was all right. The babies were fine. Everything had worked out.

Feeling Orihime tremble slightly, Ichigo looked up into her face and was dumbstruck at the look of utter despair on her face. Tears were flowing down her face and she was looking away from Ichigo.

Gently taking her by the shoulders, Ichigo asked her, "What's wrong? Are you still in pain?"

Orihime responded in a tear-streaked whisper, "I'm so sorry."

Ichigo did not know how to respond and said automatically, "For what?"

"It's my fault this happened. I must have done something wrong. I don't understand how this could have happened."

Ichigo looked from Orihime to the nurses trying to figure out what she was saying. How could she apologize for giving birth early? It was out of her control. It was natural. The babies had arrived safely. Couldn't she see their two daughters sleeping peacefully-then it hit him.

Not caring if he was allowed to or not, Ichigo sat on Orihime's bed, gathered her into his arms and held her against his chest. At that point, Orihime's sobs wracked her entire body as she clung to Ichigo in desperation. Even though Ichigo had never been the one to physically carry the babies inside of him, listening to his wife wail in despair over the loss of one of their precious babies made him feel all the agony and misery right down to the very core of his being. They remained like that for a time until Orihime's exhaustion finally caught up with her and she gradually became limp in Ichigo's arms. The stress of the day had begun to catch up to Ichigo as well, but he forced himself to remain alert as he promised himself that he would help Orihime find peace before she slept. Something instinctively told him that if he didn't make sure Orihime was at peace before she fell asleep that it would be a long time before she would ever find a peaceful night's sleep again.

Leaning next to her ear, Ichigo whispered, "Don't ever blame yourself for what happened. You didn't do anything wrong. I love you more than anything and I need you to help me with the two girls that we do have now. They need you and I need you. Thank you Orihime for our daughters."

Orihime's eyes fluttered as she said softly, "Thank you Ichigo. I love you."

As she fell asleep, Orihime felt a light touch on her lips and a beloved voice responding, "I love you too, Orihime."

Author's Note:

Hello all! Just so you know, up until this point I have only been posting on so I can add these kinds of comments a little more easily than on here, but I do enjoy posting my stories and hearing from you here!

Anyway, to get to the point, I just wanted to give you a little insight into my thought process behind this chapter since it is quite a sad one so that maybe you can understand a little more why I chose to write it the way I did.

There was a family at my old church several years ago who had three beautiful children. They had recently joined the church and after a few months found out that they were expecting triplets. Long story short, I'm not sure of all the details, but they ultimately wound up losing two of the babies so that they only had one living baby. The mother was devastated for quite a long time and eventually she was able to cope with the loss, but I'm sure it was a pretty hard burden to carry.

For this story, I want to make Ichigo and Orihime's life seem real and authentic, arguments and all, that's why I had the opening chapter turn out the way it did. Married life is not easy by any means and from what I have observed from my own parents and other married couples in my life, adjustments have to be made constantly. Now in Ichigo and Orihime's case, losing one of their triplets was part of my plan the entire time and I hope the ending scene was not too unbelievable or unrealistic for you guys. I just didn't want to have to spend a chapter or two showing Orihime in the depths of depression since I don't see her in that way.

So, that's all I wanted to say about this part and despite all the depressing moments in this chapter, I can safely promise you that in the next four chapters there will be lots of laughter to make up for it since Ichigo will be taking on the role of 'Mr. Mom'.

I have appreciated all your kind comments so far, so thank you all!


	5. Surprise

Adjustments: Part 5

"This is our burn ward. Right now we have about 5 patients residing in this part of the hospital."

"Dr. Kurosaki?"

Ichigo turned his head slightly to see who had spoken as he said, "Yes?"

A buxom and brazen girl at the front of the group of medical students asked, "How long have you been working here?"

"I started working here immediately after graduating medical school."

The girl put a hand over her mouth as she said, "You mean you didn't have to do an internship or anything like that?"

"No, I did a short internship, just so that all the procedures were followed, but it wasn't nearly as long as it could have been. They hired me on as soon as they could."

"That's amazing that you were able to be hired on right away," the girl said with a coy smile, "You must be really smart to get a job before you even have a residency."

Ichigo shrugged his shoulders, "I suppose. The thought never really occurred to me. Now moving on…"

Inwardly, Ichigo was seething with irritation. If he had known that his promotion would have included giving tours to budding medical students, he would have turned them down flat. Instead of doing something useful, like helping with patients, he had to contend with overzealous female students and a few jealous male students. The whole thing added up to one big headache at the end of the day. He was also responsible for a lot more paperwork than ever before and that just irritated him all the more.

The only bright spots in his weeks were the times he got to go home to Orihime and their twin daughters. The girls were now 6 months old and already showing signs of resembling their mother. Reika and Ayaka were the apples of their father's eye and Orihime was a godsend to come home to after a long day at work. Her bright smile and his daughters' baby antics and giggles could make even his darkest scowl disappear in moments.

His thoughts were dragged back to the present with that same female student asking him another pointless question, which he answered in a bored tone. Ichigo had no idea why so many students had all but shouted aloud their complete and utter fascination with him. However, being a man that does not pick up on things easily when it comes to women, he never would have dreamed it was because of his highly toned body (from rigorous training over the years) perfectly filling out his doctor's coat along with his deep brown eyes and shockingly orange hair were all the reasons that helped him be singled out from the rest of the male doctors. Even his cool and aloof manner only helped to increase his popularity with the ladies. No matter how many times he flashed his ring in their faces, they only ignored his lack of bachelorhood all the more until he finally gave up. They couldn't get enough of his comportment, and he couldn't wait to get away from their lack of manners.

Ichigo was about to excuse himself for a moment of peace in the bathroom, when a very familiar voice called to him, "Hello Ichigo!"

Ichigo looked down the hallway to see Orihime walking towards him pushing a stroller with two baby carriers attached. Her face glowed as she approached him and he couldn't help but smile back.

The past 6 months had had some ups and downs after he and Orihime had lost one of the triplets. What had really hit Orihime hard was the fact that the stillborn baby had been a boy and she had been sure that Ichigo would be upset over that fact. Ichigo was grateful that he had helped to put those feelings of guilt to rest in the hospital and Orihime had been seeing a counselor for the past few months to help Orihime's healing process as well. They had named the boy Shizuka for the calm expression on his face when they buried him and had visited his grave several times over the past 6 months. Not much time had been spent on grief though since Reika and Ayaka had absorbed much of Ichigo and Orihime's attention ever since they had brought the two girls home. The twins had come home from the hospital in about a weeks' time, mostly because the doctors wanted to be absolutely sure that they were healthy enough to go home. The doctors were completely baffled over the fact that Ayaka and Reika were so healthy after being born so early, but Ichigo and Orihime could not really explain that it was likely due to Ichigo's rapid regeneration powers and Orihime's healing powers.

Ichigo gave an inward sigh of relief at the interruption as he stepped towards his wife, "Hey yourself. What's going on?"

Orihime stopped in front of him and gave Ichigo a perplexed look, "Don't tell me I got the date wrong again."

Ichigo blinked at her before she continued, "Oh, I got it wrong again this year didn't I! Why do I always do that? Here I am, married to you for the past almost four years and I have known you since high school and I still can't keep your birthday straight. What is wrong with me?"

During this frantic monologue, Ichigo had approached Orihime and cupped her face in his hands as he said, "There is nothing wrong with you. I had actually forgotten all about my birthday," even though he desperately wanted to kiss her mouth, Ichigo figured that with the entranced audience behind him, he should probably settle for an affectionate kiss on Orihime's forehead as he said, "You didn't have to come all the way out here, but I'm glad you did."

Walking over to the stroller, Ichigo asked, "How are they?"

Orihime joined him as she answered, "They've been sleeping the whole way here and even when I took them out of the car, nothing disturbed them."

Leaning over and gently stroking each silky cheek, Ichigo said teasingly, "They could probably sleep through a bomb going off."

Orihime gave him a horrified look at the thought before he gave her cheek a kiss and said, "I'm just kidding. Anyway, I still have the tour to finish, so what are you three going to do in the meantime?"

Ichigo could feel rather than hear the collective romantic sigh of content from the females standing behind him as Orihime said, "Well, the girls and I thought it would be a good idea to come a little before you get off work so that once you are free we can discuss what you want to do for your birthday."

Leaning in towards her ear, Ichigo whispered, "As long as it's with my three girls, anywhere is fine with me."

Before he pulled away, Ichigo was struck with a sudden mischievous thought and gently nibbled Orihime's earlobe as he said, "You taste delicious."

Orihime gave a small squeak and swatted at his shoulder as she said, "Don't do that! We'll be waiting in the break area for you."

And with that, Orihime turned the stroller around and all but bolted down the hallway.

Ichigo smiled inwardly as he turned back to meet all the seemingly drooling mouths gawking at him as he sighed in resignation at his fate. With the thought of being able to meet his wife a little later on, however, Ichigo was able to make it through the rest of the tour without becoming too irritated. This could also be due to the fact that the female students were slightly cowed in the face of their idol's lovely wife, but Ichigo never did pick up on the details.

As soon as the tour was over and he had escorted the class back to the front of the hospital where they would make their departure, Ichigo formally wished them good luck in their pursuit of medicine and streaked away before anyone could stop him. His long legs carried him effortlessly through the halls as he made his way with high anticipation to where he knew his welcoming committee was waiting for him.

Walking into the break room, Ichigo said, "Sorry it took me so long. Some of the girls still had ques-"

"SURPRISE!"

Ichigo heard the noise and instinctively reached towards his back where his Zangetsu would have been if he had been in any other situation as his heart jumped in his chest. Looking about he saw that Orihime had not been along in her desire to celebrate his birthday and suddenly her panic over remembering the correct day made sense.

A flat tone to his right caught Ichigo's attention, "Well, even though this is supposed to be us surprising you, I must say that your reaction to all this was most unexpected."

Ichigo took the bait, "Oh and I suppose you would react differently if you were in my place, Uryu?"

The Quincy adjusted his glasses as he continued in his usual bored tone, "Well I certainly would not have grasped for a weapon that wasn't there and tried to attack those who I should have sensed in the first place if I was paying attention."

Ichigo was about to retort, when Orihime put a hand on his arm and said in a small voice, "I'm sorry, Ichigo. This party was my idea. I didn't know that surprise parties bother you."

Taking her in his arms, Ichigo replied, "I'm not upset. You just surprised me."

At the other corner of the room, Renji whispered to Rukia, Ikkaku and Toshiro, "I'm confused. Wasn't the whole point of this to surprise him?"

Toshiro rubbed his forehead and Ikkaku rolled his eyes as Rukia said, "Yes."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Just drop it."

Conversation flowed a little while longer on different topics, which gave Ichigo a few moments to assess who all had arrived. All his human friends were there along with quite a number of Soul Reapers including those mentioned above as well as Yumichika, Hanatarō, Kira, Hinamori, Rangiku, Shuhei, Shunsui and Jūshirō. From what he gathered, Orihime had invited the entire 13 Court Guard Squads to his birthday, but since everyone could not be excused from duty (and likely not everyone really felt the need to come all the way out for a measly birthday party when Soul Reapers lived for hundreds of years) obviously not all who had been invited had been able to make it. Even though the party began at the hospital, they were going to head over to Urahara's Shop where the Vizards would meet up with them as well as a few more Soul Reapers and his family.

As soon as his mind drifted to family, Ichigo suddenly began looking around the room for his two infant daughters. It did not take him long to locate them being fawned over by Rangiku and Hinamori while Tatsuki watched them with amusement. Having satisfied himself that Ayaka and Reika were gurgling happily and perfectly content at the moment, he turned his attention back to the conversation unfolding in his immediate vicinity.

"I tell you," Keigo was saying, "girls these days aren't going for the good guys anymore. Would you believe that I met this girl and out of the kindness of my heart offered to help her carry her overflowing grocery bags to her car and she not so much as mentioned giving me her phone number out of gratitude?"

Uryu adjusted his glasses as he said, "She could probably tell that you had some ulterior motive and made herself scarce as soon as possible."

Keigo threw up his hands, "Well, it wasn't like I asked for her number and even when I finally discovered that she had a boyfriend, it would have been nice for her to tell me in the beginning that she was taken and have him carry the groceries rather than shoving them on me."

Mizuiro sighed, "If we know you, you probably pestered the poor girl until she finally had to give in or have you hounding her until you reached west by travelling east."

"Even though I don't fully understand what you said there at the end, what baffles me even more is that this guy watched me asking her and showing my interest in her and didn't so much as blink an eye."

Ichigo laughed slightly as he said, "Most likely because he didn't see you as much of a threat."

Keigo gave a huff and went away muttering, "I'm going to say hi to Ayaka and Reika. At least those girls think I'm funny and cute."

The others looked at each other before Ichigo asked, "Do you think we should tell him that the girls giggle at anything that looks funny?"

Uryu droned, "And smash his already broken pride to smaller pieces? What kind of friends would we be if we did something so cruel to someone so honorable and chivalrous?"

"Speaking of people trying to be chivalrous," Mizuiro said, "Ichigo, who is that talking with Orihime?"

Ichigo turned and if he had been a dog, his hackles would have risen as he inwardly growled in frustration. Standing uncomfortably close to his wife the incorrigible Dr. Saito while Orihime looked as if she wished to flee but couldn't due to her manners. Whether or not Dr. Saito had any manners to speak of was not the point at the moment, Orihime needed him and Ichigo was striding across the room in less time than it took light to make its way to earth.

Orihime saw her determined spouse making his way towards them and said with a relieved expression, "Oh Ichigo. Dr. Saito was just asking me about how we met."

Ichigo gave Dr. Saito a meaningful look, "And why would he want to know something like that?"

Dr. Saito put on a look of innocence, "Well, female flowers of your wife's caliber are certainly hard to come by. I was just curious how you managed to sweep this example of female perfection off her feet."

"Well, one would usually begin by making sure that the woman is unattached," Ichigo said coldly, "And I didn't win her over, she let me fall in love with her. She was patient enough for me to come to my senses about how wonderful she is and how perfect she is for me."

Apparently subtlety was one of the many arts of communication in which Dr. Saito was not versed for he continued, "She's perfect I'll grant you that. I don't think I've ever seen a woman more stunning. I'm just wondering what she sees in you."

Tatsuki startled Dr. Saito as she spoke from behind him, "I don't know who you are, but I'm upset about how you're talking to my friends. Orihime is way too nice and Ichigo is too restrained since you are his coworker, but I have no such qualms. Leave now before I box your ears."

Even though he tried to act nonchalant during his exit, everyone could tell that Dr. Saito was more than a little scared of the fierce faced female facing him off.

As soon as she was sure that Dr. Saito had made himself scarce, Tatsuki punched Ichigo in the shoulder and said, "What's the matter with you? It's your birthday party and yet you're going to let a creep like that hit on Orihime?"

Ichigo retorted, "I was handling the situation fine by myself thanks. Nobody asked you to butt in."

Before either one could continue arguing, Orihime grasped Tatsuki's hand and said, "Thank you for helping us out. I couldn't think of a way to ask him to leave nicely, but I was getting really uncomfortable with his conversation. Thank you."

"No problem."

Turning to Ichigo, Orihime cupped his face and smiled at him, "And you came over to rescue me first. You're my hero."

Before Ichigo could say anything, Orihime pulled his face to hers and gave him a kiss.  
>Forgetting that they were not the only ones in the room, Ichigo picked her up off her feet thinking that he couldn't remember a better birthday. And it had only just started…<p> 


	6. Anxiety

Adjustments: Part 6

"I've got keys, my uniform, money, purse…did I leave you with instructions on how to make the formula…where are the keys, I just had them…all the diapers should be underneath the changing table and I don't think you should run out but there are some extras in the basement…oh there are my keys…I've been trying to feed them with less formula and get them started on some baby food but we'll see how they take to it…is there anything I've forgotten…"

Ichigo calmly looked up from playing on the floor with Reika to see his harried wife walk past the living room for the tenth time in about five minutes and said, "I don't know what you're so stressed about. You are going into work for one day and I'm here with the girls, so what can possibly go wrong?"

Orihime gave him a look of unbelief as she said in a frenzied voice, "Everything can go wrong! What if you need something while I'm gone? What if I get to work and can't remember how to do anything? What if-"

Her sentence was cut short as Ichigo turned her face to him and gave her a reassuring kiss. As was usual during her frantic monologues, Orihime had failed to notice her spouse rising (scooping up his cooing daughter in the process) and making his way over to where she stood stressing out. Caught in between her two loving parents, Reika decided that it might be a good idea to remind them of her presence and promptly began to entangle her small hands in her mother's hair and giggle when her mother pulled away suddenly with a startled cry.

Helping Orihime to free her hair, Ichigo began to playfully scold his impish daughter, "What? You don't want to hang around with your old man tonight? Don't you know that daddies let their children do everything that their mommy won't allow? I'll let you stay up really late and eat junk food all night without asking you to brush your teeth once. You can slide down the banister with nothing but your birthday suit on and I won't even bat an eye. Doesn't that sound like more fun that being at home with mom?"

Even though the tiny girl had absolutely no idea what her father had just said to her, upon hearing his teasing tone of voice, Reika had relinquished her hold on her mother, began squealing with delight and waving her arms excitedly in front of Ichigo's face. Orihime in the meantime had calmed down and was giving her husband a meaningful look.

"When I come home, I expect the house to at least have remained in one piece and the girls to be sleeping peacefully in their beds."

The last three words were spoken with playful forcefulness as Orihime jabbed her index finger into Ichigo's chest. Ichigo gave a mock grimace of pain before he threw her an overdone salute.

"Everything will be in ship-shape upon your return Mrs. Brigadier General Kurosaki."

Orihime walked over to the playpen where Ayaka had been serenely observing the entire scene, picked Ayaka up and walked back over to Ichigo. Giving both of the girls a kiss on the cheek, Orihime transferred Ayaka into Ichigo's unoccupied arm and then gently pulled Ichigo's head down until she could rest her forehead against his.

"Do you really think I can do this?"

Ichigo kissed her nose and said, "You're going to be fine. Take things one step at a time."

Orihime gave him one final kiss before she opened the door and said, "Have a good day. I love you."

"Love you too."

And with that, the first drama of the day came to a close.

Looking down at the two pictures of baby perfection (if he did say so himself) nestled in his arms, Ichigo said, "So what should we do first? Tepee our neighbor's house? Or prank call someone we pick out of the phone book?"

Naturally, neither of Ichigo's stupid ideas ever came to fruition and the three of them spent the next hour or so playing on the floor. Soon it was changing time and Ichigo was very grateful that this would not be his first time changing diapers. The last thing Orihime needed right now was a desperate call from him on how to clean up after his own children. After changing Reika and Ayaka in a time efficient manner that only men can accomplish, Ichigo was startled by a loud knock at the door. Thinking that it was far too early for the mailman to be delivering packages, Ichigo deposited Ayaka in the playpen and carried the active Reika with him to the door.

A familiar but not necessarily welcome greeting of, "Hey Ichigo!" greeted him as soon as the door began to show signs of movement. Ichigo briefly wondered if it was too late to slam the door and lock it when a foot that seemed to have anticipated Ichigo's reaction kicked the door inwards and almost knocked Ichigo over in the process.

As Reika gurgled with delight, Ichigo started berating his 'house guests', "What's the big idea? Is this any way to come into someone else's house? You almost hit my daughter for crying out loud!"

Tatsuki stepped smoothly inside and snatched the giggling infant who was holding her arms out for Tatsuki as Tatsuki said, "I know you were planning on barricading your house as soon as you knew who was waiting on your doorstep."

Behind Tatsuki, the usual entourage came trailing into the front hall as Ichigo threw back, "Maybe if you would call before you make impromptu visits on me and my family, I might be more willing to have you over more often."

Keigo broke in with a whining tone, "But even when we do call ahead of time, you somehow manage to find other seemingly more important things to do so that you can't hang out with us."

Ichigo turned to Keigo, "Or maybe I have a full-time job that occupies most of my time and a family that needs any time that I can manage to spare."

Uryu spoke up, "Not wanting to put a damper on your ego, Ichigo, but who said that we came here to see you?"

This comment had the desired effect and Ichigo was left to stand dumbstruck in the foyer as his friends made their way into the living room where Ayaka was still playing peacefully in her little playpen.

Walking over to Ayaka, Keigo began babbling in what most people have termed 'baby talk' saying, "Hey there, little cutie! Who's a pretty little girl? Are you happy playing in there all by yourself? Or would you rather play with dear Uncle Keigo?"

While some people can manage to pull off talking to infants in such a manner, Keigo, unfortunately, would have given any other infant nightmares for weeks if he had spoken to them the way he had just spoken to Ayaka. Lucky for Keigo, Ayaka was a baby who was not fazed or bothered by anyone or anything. On the other hand, Keigo's idiotic jabbering managed to snap Ichigo out of his stupor and so Ichigo came charging into the room ready to snatch his precious Ayaka and Reika away from their 'friendly assailants'.

"Now look! Just because the girls aren't putting up a fuss about you guys dropping by unannounced and uninvited, doesn't mean that it's ok for you to just barge inside another person's house and snatch their children away!"

"We didn't barge inside!" Tatsuki fired back, "We knocked first and asked to come in, so you can't call the police and say that we broke in."

Ichigo snapped, "Like I said, it would have been better for you to call ahead and let me know you were coming before you just show up out of the blue on my doorstep."

Uryu adjusted his glasses as he sighed, "Some idiots never learn."

Ichigo whirled on Uryu, "What did you say?"

Giving Ichigo a penetrating look, Uryu responded, "You would think after all these years of being a soldier of sorts that you would have developed enough common sense to always know what presences are within at least a one mile radius of yourself and only ignore those presences that do not pose a potential threat. Had you done this like a sensible warrior, you would have sensed us coming long before we reached your front door."

During this entire condescending speech, Ichigo's fists had become tighter in frustration until he exploded, "That's it!"

Before he could spring on his adversary, Ichigo's highly trained ears picked up a small cry of hunger from behind him. Reacting instinctively, Ichigo bounded into the kitchen before anyone else had a chance to react. The onlookers were too shocked to move as they heard clatters and bangs from inside the kitchen for a couple of minutes until Ichigo finally emerged carrying two bottles of formula and wearing a smug grin.

"Though I'm sure that the girls would love to play with you some more," Ichigo said, "unfortunately, you are not very important to them at this point in time."

To prove this statement, as soon as Reika noticed the objects in Ichigo's hands she began squirming in Tatsuki's arms and reaching for the sustenance. Ayaka merely held out one hand in Ichigo's direction, but it was enough. Feeding time commenced and before too long was finished. That was when the trouble started.

After feeding Reika and Ayaka, Ichigo allowed them to lie on the floor and play with Keigo and Tatsuki while he, Chad, Mizuiro and Uryu watched them. A little while later, Reika began to look a little uncomfortable and started to whine slightly. Soon afterwards, Ayaka began to join her sister in making pitiful noises.

"No need to worry," said Ichigo to the others, "They just probably need to be changed."

He proceeded to check the girls' diapers, but found them to be clean. Next he tried giving each girl a pacifier, but that didn't work either.

Tatsuki finally sighed and said, "You probably didn't feed them enough," and brought the bottles back out only to have Reika and Ayaka begin to cry all the louder.

In Ichigo's case, even though he was not home with the girls most of the time, he did come home almost every night and so was used to dealing with his children's crying at night. However, he had heard from Orihime that Reika and Ayaka were extremely good and content babies and very rarely cried. At this moment, both his daughters were beginning to cry uncontrollably and he couldn't figure out why.

Thinking desperately, Ichigo rushed into the kitchen and consulted the list that Orihime had left for him in regard to taking care of the twins. So far as he could tell, he had tried everything and nothing had worked.

Sensing someone behind him, Ichigo looked over his shoulder to see his friends staring at him, telling him to get his act together and make his daughters stop crying.

"Look! Do you any of you have any bright ideas?"

Tatsuki shot back, "Shouldn't you know how to take care of your own kids? They're crying like this and you can't even figure out why!"

"Why can't you figure out why they're crying?" Ichigo shot back, "One would think that because you're a woman that you would intrinsically know these kinds of things!"

Tatsuki jumped to her feet, ready to knock him out, "What are you trying to say? You're their dad for crying out loud! You should know how to-"

"Enough!" cried Uryu, "Neither of your completely stupid arguments are going to help in this situation! We need to calm down and think rationally!"

Keigo retorted, "And how are we supposed to do that with so much noise?"

To add to the cacophony of sound, the phone began to ring. At first Ichigo decided to ignore the annoying distraction, but after the phone finished ringing the first time it immediately began a second and third until finally Ichigo picked up the phone after the fourth attempt.

"What is it?" Ichigo said in an irritated tone.

"Good afternoon, sir. I am a salesperson from Shikaido Enterprise and I am calling to offer you a unique business opportunity. Would you consent to hear my proposal?"

"I've got enough to worry about right now, so no thanks," Ichigo snapped and hung up.

Before he had enough time to turn around, the phone rang again. Ichigo ignored the phone once again, but gave in after the third call in a row.

"What?" Ichigo cried into the receiver, "What do you want?"

The same voice came over the line in a calm and unperturbed manner, "I am hoping that you will reconsider hearing about this once in a lifetime opportunity that I am going to reveal to you. For only five minutes of your time, I will tell you how to-"

Ichigo cut the voice off, "I'm sorry. I don't really buy into these sales calls in the first place, but you've really caught me on a bad day. Unless you can help me calm down my daughters who are screaming in the background right now because I can't take care of them since I'm trying to talk to you, I really would be grateful if you would leave me alone."

With that, Ichigo cut the line without giving the voice a chance to respond. Ichigo let out a breath, put down the phone and began to walk away when suddenly the phone rang once again.

This time Ichigo snatched the phone up right away and all but yelled, "Look! Didn't I just tell you not to call again?"

Ichigo's tirade was conquered when a voice over the line simply asked, "Ichigo?"

Ichigo was taken aback by the familiar voice and merely stood holding the phone to his ear as the voice inquired, "Ichigo? Is that you? What's going on? Are you ok?"

"I'm sorry, Orihime. I thought you were someone else. What's up?"

"I just called to ask if we had any fish at the house or if I needed to pick some up from the store on the way home. What's going on over there? It sounds like Reika and Ayaka are giving you some trouble."

Ichigo was very grateful that his wife's voice was concerned but not panicked as she asked what was going on, "Well, I fed the girls at the time that you had said and then let them play around for a while. After a time, they began fussing a little and no matter what I've tried nothing seems to work. What do I do?"

Orihime's voice was silent for a moment before she asked, "Did you burp them?"

Ichigo was taken aback by this question for a moment before he asked, "Did I what?"

Orihime's gentle laughter drifted over the phone as she explained, "You must have forgotten. After you feed small babies, you need to gently lay them against your shoulder and pat their backs until they burp to help them release the gas inside their stomachs. They can't do this on their own just yet and if you don't do it, the pressure will build up and make them uncomfortable. That's probably what's wrong."

Ichigo smacked his forehead as he answered, "That was in the pregnancy book that Yuzu got us before they were born and made me read."

"You've never had to feed them before really, so it's fine that you don't remember. Try burping them first and then if they keep fussing, call me at the hospital and we can figure out what to do next."

"You're a life-saver, Orihime."

"Well, I'm only trying to repay all those times that you saved me. I love you, Ichigo."

"Love you too."

After that, Ichigo went over and gently picked up the howling Reika and asked Mizuiro to pick up the bawling Ayaka and to mimic whatever Ichigo did. A little while later, Reika and Ayaka were hiccupping and calm after their stomachs had been relieved. Soon Reika was back on the floor gurgling happily as Tatsuki and Mizuiro played with her and Ayaka lay observing Keigo as he tried to coax a smile out of her. As the others were occupied, Ichigo and the others sat talking on the couches.

"So Ichigo," Uryu asked, "remember when we came to the hospital for your birthday last month?"

"Yeah, of course I remember."

Uryu was always very good at being direct in his approach to anything in life, "Who was that doctor that was, for all intents and purposes and for lack of a better word, 'hitting on' Orihime?"

At first, Ichigo was not sure how to respond to this unexpected inquiry and the only clear thought that came out of his mouth was, "What?"

Uryu sighed and began to repeat, "Who was the doctor-"

Ichigo interrupted, "I heard you the first time."

Uryu became irritated, "Then why didn't you answer?"

"Because I wasn't expecting you to ask me something like that! And besides, I got rid of him before-"

Tatsuki shot from across the room, "Wait a minute! You got rid of him?"

Ichigo retorted, "I was trying to get rid of him and he would have left soon anyways."

"He left because I actually told him to leave rather than beating around the bush about it!"

Keigo rose in between the two bickering friends and said, "Hey, hey! It's not like this guy hurt anybody."

Tatsuki began firing at Keigo, "Of course you would defend him!"

Keigo looked at Tatsuki in disbelief, "Who said I was defending him? I'm just saying that this happened a month ago and if people were really irritated by what happened then it should have been dealt with then."

Ichigo was just about to add his two cents when Chad spoke up and sent Ichigo into major panic mode with two simple words.

"Where's Ayaka?"


	7. Reassurance

Adjustments: Part 7

"How could Ayaka have disappeared? I was just with her a moment ago!"

"Well, she was there before but she certainly isn't there now! How do you explain that?"

"I don't know!"

"Look! It doesn't really matter who saw her last since obviously no one can see her now!"

"What do you think I've been saying this whole time?"

"Don't take that tone with me!"

"Don't speak to me like I'm an idiot!"

"Then don't act like one!"

"Hey! No one asked for your opinion!"

"You never do."

"I know and still you think your opinion is welcome."

Sensible people would have begun to search immediately after discovering that an infant had somehow managed to elude them. Apparently, at this point in time, Ichigo and the others were not examples of such rational behavior. That is until Mizuiro and Chad finally voiced their thoughts.

Chad began with, "Enough."

After the other four individuals had ceased bickering, Mizuiro continued, "Right now you guys are more interested in proving your stupid points rather than trying to find Ayaka. We need to split up and start looking for her."

Keigo broke in, "Maybe she was kidnapped!"

Uryu looked at him, "By whom exactly?"

"I don't know. Obviously, if I knew that we would know where she was."

Tatsuki looked at Keigo skeptically, "How could someone have kidnapped Ayaka? We were all in the same room."

Keigo put on a thoughtful expression (not an expression he used very often) and said, "Well…maybe the kidnapper was standing in the front hall where we couldn't see him and as soon as he saw me go over and selflessly try and break apart my two brawling friends, he quickly pulled a piece of candy out of his pocket, waved it around so that Ayaka would walk over to him and then he could snatch her up and be out the door before anyone could say 'Four Fat Frogs Frying Fritters'."

Ichigo asked, "Assuming that we wouldn't have heard the guy coming into the house, how do you explain Ayaka suddenly being able to walk over to this guy? She's almost eight months old, but she hasn't even started crawling yet."

Keigo waved his hand, "Ok, so maybe she crawled over."

Chad said, "She's too little to like candy yet."

Keigo threw up his arms and said, "Ok, so maybe the candy thing doesn't work!"

Tatsuki asked sarcastically, "Have any more brilliant theories?"

Keigo brightened, "Actually I do."

Before anyone could protest, Keigo launched into his second explanation, "So maybe this guy didn't bribe her with candy, but he might have hypnotized her and through his hypnosis he was able to tell her to crawl over to him and then he whisked her away."

Not thinking about the certain consequences, Chad asked, "How did he hypnotize her?"

Keigo replied, "An excellent question. I once saw a play in which a character hypnotized a young girl by singing to her. Quick, think back everybody! Did anyone hear any music or singing just before we noticed Ayaka was missing?"

Uryu turned to Ichigo, "I keep forgetting that you are not the world's biggest idiot."

Rubbing his forehead, Ichigo allowed the jab to slide as he said, "He never changes."

As a sudden thought struck him, Ichigo asked Uryu, "Hey, can't you sense Ayaka's presence anywhere nearby?"

Uryu adjusted his glasses, "Actually, one of the reasons that I wanted to come over and visit with your daughters was to confirm something that I had noticed at your party."

"And what was that?"

"I can't seem to sense your daughter's presence."

Ichigo paused for a moment before he asked, "What you mean?"

"It seems as if Ayaka has the ability to cloak her presence so that you can't even sense her if she is standing right next to you. It will probably be a very beneficial skill when she grows up."

"In a nutshell, you have no idea where she is."

"It's not my fault that you don't know how to watch your own daughters!"

"Why you-"

"Cut it out!"

Tatsuki had grabbed both squabbling men by the ears and said, "Look! We have a missing child crisis right now so what we certainly don't need are two grown men picking fights with one another over stupid pride issues! So either grow up, act like men and help us find Ayaka or sit down and get out of the way to let us adults start looking the old fashioned way!"

The subdued men mumbled under their breath for a few more minutes, but all adults immediately set to work searching for Ayaka. Reika was gently deposited in the playpen for safe-keeping and every few moments one of the adults would check to make sure that Reika was still happily occupying herself in her little haven.

Ichigo had just entered the kitchen to start looking there, when he was interrupted for the second time that day by the doorbell. He was half-tempted to pretend that no one was home, but then realized that the person could look in the front window and see people moving around the house, so he sighed and went to answer the door, hoping that whoever it was would not be too inquisitive.

As he opened the door, Ichigo thought he heard the words, "Sorry Ichigo," before he saw a hand reach around the opening door and make a grab for his head. Reacting instinctively, Ichigo jumped away from the attacking hand only to have his backward progress impeded by an all too familiar kick.

"Ha! Not good enough this time Ichigo!" called an all too familiar voice from behind Ichigo as he lay sprawled in the front hall.

"Nicely done, Yuzu! Your part in this mission was carried out splendidly!"

As Isshin Kurosaki had been nearly crowing with victory, Yuzu and Karin had entered the front hall, Ichigo had begun picking himself up off the floor and some of the searchers had come to see what all the commotion was about.

Isshin turned to see Keigo and Tatsuki gaze at the felled Ichigo and said brightly, "Why, I didn't know that Ichigo was going to have so much company today! Seems like we weren't the only ones to be concerned about Ichigo watching over the darling Reika and Ayaka while Orihime went off to work."

Tatsuki mumbled, "And it seems that we had every reason to be concerned."

Ichigo snapped at Tatsuki, "Hey! I was doing just fine until you guys showed up!"

Ichigo then railed on Isshin, "And what's the big idea? What makes you think it's ok to attack a man in his own house? Will I never be safe from you?"

Isshin grinned at his son, "As long as I'm around, no son of mine is going to have such pathetic reaction times as you. I expected some success from Operation: Stealth Greeting, but this was way more than I had anticipated. You completely fell for it."

"How did you get into my house anyway?"

"Through the back door."

"And exactly where did you get that fake arm that Yuzu is attempting to hide behind her back?"

"From Urahara."

Uryu's voice carried from the second story as he called to Ichigo, "Your lack of caring about your daughter's well-being is really starting to worry me."

Ichigo was about to retort when Karin broke in, "What does he mean?"

Keigo piped up before Ichigo had a chance to explain, "Ayaka's missing and we think she might have been kidnapped!"

Isshin cried, "Missing!"

Yuzu squeaked, "Kidnapped!"

Karin groaned, "Oh boy."

Keigo continued in a dramatic tone, "We've been searching for dear Ayaka high and low with no sign of her so we have no choice but to believe that some strange man must have come in here and forced her to come with him by means of-"

Tatsuki cut him off midsentence with a quick jab to Keigo's midsection, "Quit with the melodrama and drop all this nonsense about a kidnapper with the ability to sneak off with children through the use of a flute."

Uryu's voice drifted downwards once again from on high, "That would be the Pied Piper."

Tatsuki called up the stairs, "Same difference!"

Isshin suddenly launched himself at his son yelling, "How could you let this happen? What kind of father allows his daughter to be kidnapped by some freak?"

Ichigo prepared for this attack and retorted, "First of all, Ayaka wasn't kidnapped by anyone. If anyone had entered into this house suspiciously Mr. Know-It-All-Four-Eyes would have sensed their presence. "

Karin said, "But the fact remains that you can't seem to find Ayaka."

Yuzu cried, "She could have been abducted!"

Ichigo began, "I just said that Ayaka wasn't kidn-"

Yuzu cut him off, "I said 'abducted' not 'kidnapped'!"

Karin turned to her twin, "They both mean the same thing."

"No they don't! I'm not saying that Ayaka was kidnapped by a strange man in a trench coat! I'm talking about how Ayaka could have been abducted by the little green aliens!"

Even Isshin was silent for half a minute at this outburst as Yuzu looked at the group around her before she continued, "I read recently that more sightings of signs foretelling the coming of a new species of life form have been occurring. The aliens are said to need a young liaison to learn their language in order to translate for them when they arrive upon Earth."

Karin asked, "What? They don't have some advanced translation gadget invented yet?"

Yuzu frowned at her skeptical twin, "Mock them all you want now, but someday when the aliens come you'll wish you'd listened to me about how to deal with them."

In his head, Ichigo was thinking, "Orihime thinks aliens are blue and Yuzu thinks they're green. I hope they never get into an argument about which color is better."

Out loud, Ichigo said, "I don't think aliens kidnapped Ayaka."

Yuzu whirled on Ichigo, "Not kidnapped! Abducted!"

Ichigo said in an irritated voice, "Whatever! The point is I don't think little blue aliens-"

"Green!"

"All right, GREEN aliens came and took Ayaka away!"

"But you don't know that for sure!"

Ichigo's patience snapped, "I know that Ayaka wasn't taken by aliens that don't exist in the first place."

Yuzu shot back, "You can say all you want that aliens don't exist, but you don't know that for sure. For the longest time, you never believed in Soul Reapers or even knew about the existence of Hollows, Arrancars or any of the other creatures that you have fought over the years!"

Before Ichigo had a chance to reply, a knock at the door caused him to nearly scream in frustration. Walking stiffly over to the door, Ichigo threw it open and was greeted by his second least favorite group of people in the world: the travelling salesman.

"Good afternoon, sir," said a man with very straight, large and white teeth, "Lovely weather for this time of year, don't you think?"

Apparently, the question was rhetorical since the man plunged straight into his sales pitch, "I have here in my possession something that will entirely eradicate the overuse of-"

Ichigo cut him off, "As intrigued as I am by your offer, I'm going to have to decline."

Closing the door firmly in the man's face, Ichigo began to walk away when he heard the knocking commence once again. Determined to ignore the knocking, Ichigo turned to his dad.

"Even though I'm still steamed about the whole dropping by unannounced bit and that whole attacking me from behind operation, we could use some more eyes to help us find Ayaka."

Yuzu began insistently, "But I just told you that she-"

Ichigo interrupted her, "Let's start by searching the whole house thoroughly first and then I'll be more open to listening to your theories of alien kidnapping."

Ichigo quickly corrected himself as he saw Yuzu opening her mouth, "Abduction."

The knocking had continued throughout his entire conversation and Ichigo's will to ignore the persistent salesman snapped.

Yanking the door open, Ichigo thundered, "Look pal! I have better things to do today than to stand around here and listen to you sing the praises of some random object that I have absolutely no use for. So either buzz off, or the next time I open this door and see you here, whatever you are trying to sell is going to be wrapped around your neck! Got it?"

Without waiting for a reply, Ichigo slammed the door shut and stormed off into a room to continue searching.

Keigo peeked out from behind Tatsuki, "Man, I don't think I've ever seen Ichigo quite so irritable."

Tatsuki calmly looked at Keigo, "Until you have kids, you'll never understand."

"What?"

"Ichigo's scared half to death right now."

Keigo looked back at Ichigo with a look of disbelief, "That looks like fury written all over his face, not fear."

Tatsuki shook her head, "You know Ichigo's always taken his role of protector very seriously even for those who are not his family. Imagine what he must be thinking right now that he can't find one of his own infant daughters."

Whether Keigo completely followed Tatsuki's accurate observation, one can only guess. He did search intently and silently from that point on.

As Ichigo stormed back into the front hallway to move on to the next room, across the house all the other searchers groaned inwardly as yet another knock sounded at the door.

Gritting his teeth, Ichigo opened the door slowly and said, "What is it now?"

"Well, that's a fine greeting after all this time. We haven't seen you in about a month and you're going to treat us like this."

In his head, Ichigo groaned, "Is this day ever going to end?"

Out loud, Ichigo said irritably, "This isn't the best time for a social call, Rangiku. Toshiro, why did you guys come?"

Toshiro didn't even look at Ichigo as he replied, "We have orders to check up on you and your daughters to see if they have developed any powers similar to yours or Orihime's."

"Well, unless you can tell whether Ayaka has developed the ability to turn herself invisible, I can't really help you right now."

Behind Rangiku and Toshiro were Renji and Shuhei and at that moment Renji spoke up, "Hey Ichigo! Who did put the roof on your house?"

Ichigo blinked, "Why do you ask?"

Renji replied, "Well because some of the shingles seem to be coming loose."

To this day, Ichigo had no idea how he managed to accomplish this next feat without converting into his Soul Reaper form as he normally couldn't jump very high. As soon as the words had exited Renji's mouth, Ichigo shoved past the gathered Soul Reapers, ran to the side of the house, jumped up and pulled himself onto the roof. The house was two stories, but as the second story was not as wide as the first, the first story had an overhanging roof about eight feet off the ground.

After his successful climb onto the roof, Ichigo's eyes searched frantically about for Ayaka's small frame. He found her lying peacefully on her stomach underneath where the side of the second story of the house began. Letting out a sigh of relief, Ichigo slowly made his way over to the small girl, picked her up and held her in front of him.

"I always thought Reika would be the one who would give me the most trouble, but I can see that you're the one who's going to be responsible for putting gray hairs on my head."

Ayaka rewarded her father with one of her rare smiles. She was a happy baby and when she was younger she had been prone to giggling and smiling along with her sister, but lately she had seemed to grow less inclined to do so, which made her smiles and giggles all the more precious.

Ichigo kissed his daughter gently and then cradled her against his chest as he leaned back against the house saying, "Please don't ever pull this again. Especially with your mom around."

Ayaka made a small noise, which Ichigo pretended was a sign of understanding and consent, to which Ichigo added his own sigh of wellbeing.

A few moments later, the peace of the moment was broken by voices drifting up to Ichigo asking what he thought he was doing up there.

Giving a sigh of resignation, Ichigo rose and said to Ayaka, "I keep forgetting that they're here."

When Ayaka looked at him, Ichigo asked playfully, "Maybe I should drive them all away. Or you could if you made a big enough mess in your diaper."

Calling down to the others, Ichigo said, "I found her. She was out on the roof."

When Ichigo finally made his way into the house once again, everyone began fussing over Ayaka and arguing about how she could have ended up in such a strange place. They never did figure out how Ayaka came to be on the roof, but it wasn't too much later that Ayaka began to walk. She never crawled, but simply went right into walking.

After his stress about Ayaka being missing had been relieved, after a time, Ichigo was becoming irritated once more with his uninvited guests refusing to leave. True, he hadn't asked them outright, but he was worn out and ready for them to leave and so would resort to rude behavior soon if they didn't hit the road.

Chad, Mizuiro and Karin picked up on Ichigo's need for peace first and so proceeded to herd the others out of the house. Ichigo told himself that he would have to get those three something extra special this year for their birthdays in gratitude.

Soon, the house was blissfully peaceful once more and Ichigo allowed himself to relax. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was about time for the girls' naptime, but since they were both nestled comfortably in the playpen and already starting to fall asleep, Ichigo decided to leave them where they were. Tilting his head back against the couch, Ichigo's eyelids suddenly felt heavy. The padding of the couch and the sound of his daughters' soft breathing both soothed him and he allowed himself to shut his eyes for a brief moment.

The next thing he knew, Orihime was standing over him brushing away the hair that had fallen over his face as she said, "Wake up, Sleepyhead. I can't imagine that that position is very comfortable for you."

Coming to his senses, Ichigo realized that he had somehow managed to move from the couch to the hardwood floor right beside the couch. Ichigo took a moment to glance at Orihime and then looked around her to see what Reika and Ayaka were up too.

"They're still sleeping. My goodness but don't they look angelic right now."

Having satisfied himself as to his daughters' wellbeing, Ichigo grasped his wife around the waist and pulled her gently down beside him saying, "Orihime, how do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Take care of Reika and Ayaka."

"Why? Were they really fussy today?"

"Not exactly. We had a couple of incidents today that just about made me have a heart attack and I was thinking that you have to deal with this every day. So, how do you do it?"

Orihime kissed her husband's cheek as she replied, "I don't take myself too seriously. Tell myself that I will do better next time and that everyone makes mistakes. I also do exactly what you told me to do before I left for work today."

At Ichigo's confused look, Orihime replied, "I take things one step at a time."

Cupping Ichigo's face in her hands, Orihime said, "You do look like you've been through quite a few ordeals today."

"You don't know the half of it."

"No, I don't. But I do know that you're the kind of person that doesn't usually make the same mistake twice, so I'm sure things will go more smoothly the next time around."

Orihime looked thoughtful for a moment, "Although, next month might be about the time that they start teething."

Ichigo groaned as he thought of all the ways that things that he might have to deal with next month when Orihime went in to work. However, he didn't dwell on these thoughts long as he and the girls discovered upon waking up that they were positively famished since they had been sleeping for over 7 hours straight. A late night dinner was prepared and shared by the soon to be added to Kurosaki family.


	8. Commitment

Adjustments: Part 8

"Reika, could you help your mother get the lunch ready? Ayaka and Makoto make sure that Nobu and Sayuri packed sweaters since it might cool down tonight! Where's Natsuki?"

"I have him, Ichigo," Orihime's voice came from the kitchen, "Could you take him though, please?"

Ichigo made his way to the kitchen and saw his wife and eight year old daughter hard at work putting together the family's picnic lunch. Following Orihime's gaze, Ichigo saw his youngest son about to explore the cabinets filled with pots and pans and quickly moved to intercept young Natsuki.

"Hey there, little man. Why don't you come and help Daddy make sure that none of the tires on the car are flat?"

Little Natsuki was barely over a year old and he loved to do anything that involved using tools, especially when his Daddy was working with him.

Natsuki's reply to Ichigo's inquiry was to run as fast as his tiny legs would carry him to the back door that lead to the garage, where he knew all the tools were waiting. As he went to follow his eager son, Ichigo noticed Orihime giving him a grateful look before she turned back to see how Reika was doing on the rice balls.

As he was helping Natsuki use the tire pressure gage properly, Ichigo thought back to how much things had changed over the past eight years. Not long after Reika and Ayaka were ten months old, Orihime had discovered that she was pregnant with their third child. There had been some anxiety in the beginning as to whether or not there might be complications and Orihime was concerned due to what had happened with the previous pregnancy, but their son Makoto had finally arrived without any trouble about two months after the twins turned a year old. The Kurosaki brood increased once again about two years later with the addition of their second set of twins, a boy and a girl whose names were Nobu and Sayuri. The most recent addition to the family came in the form of the energetic Natsuki and Ichigo was thinking that while he loved having a big family, he and Orihime probably had a large enough set of offspring. They had an even amount of boys and girls and the age span between them all was about 7 years, which meant they were all pretty good friends with each other. Even when the siblings decided to argue, at least they could take sides fairly evenly whether boys against girls or the older three against the younger three.

"Daddy?"

Ichigo heard his daughter Sayuri's voice behind him and he turned to answer, "Yes?"

Sayuri and her brother had recently turned five and she was the only one out of his three daughters to wear her hair with bangs like Orihime's, which really helped to accentuate her big, beautiful hazel eyes.

"Can I have a boyfriend?"

Ichigo was so dumbstruck that for a moment he had no idea how to respond until he finally managed the words, "What do you mean?"

"I heard Reika and Ayaka talking the other day about how Aunt Yuzu has a boyfriend now and how happy she is and I was wondering if I could have one too."

Ichigo cleared his throat to give him a moment to think before he asked, "Well, Sayuri, do you know what the word 'boyfriend' means?"

"No."

Ichigo wished that Orihime were around so that she could take over, but he started explaining, "Well, a boyfriend is someone who when he likes a girl might ask her to go on a date with him."

"What's a date?"

Ichigo mentally kicked himself for not taking Sayuri to Orihime as he replied, "Um, well, a date is something fun that a boyfriend and his girlfriend might do together to spend time with each other. They might go to the beach, go to a movie or go shopping together."

Sayuri thought for a moment before she said, "So, I've been on dates with you, Mommy, Reika, Ayaka, Makoto, Nobu and Natsuki, right?"

Ichigo sighed as he replied, "It's not quite the same thing, Sayuri."

"Why not?"

Ichigo ran a hand through his hair as he said, "Well, because people who go on dates are normally a lot older than you are. I started dating your mommy when we were about eighteen."

Sayuri's eyes widened in shock, "You were really old," and then Sayuri's face became thoughtful as she asked, "Are you Mommy's boyfriend?"

"I used to be Mommy's boyfriend, but now I'm her husband."

"What's a husband?"

Ichigo laid a hand on her head as he said, "I'll explain another time."

"Can I ask one more thing?"

Ichigo paused before he said, "Sure, why not?"

Sayuri looked Ichigo in the eyes as she asked, "If Aunt Yuzu has a boyfriend now, will he be her husband later?"

Ichigo laughed, "If he's proves that he's good enough for her, then maybe."

"How will he prove that he's good enough?"

Ichigo reached down and lifted her under one of his arms as he said, "You ask too many questions!"

As Sayuri squealed with delight, Ichigo scooped up Natsuki with his other arm and carried the two delighted children into the house to see how all the preparations were going.

Makoto, Ayaka and Nobu were helping pack the last of the food alongside Reika, who seemed to be in her element telling the others how to pack it all properly.

Noticing that Orihime was absent from the kitchen, Ichigo asked, "Where's your mommy?"

Reika answered, "She went upstairs to check on something."

Ichigo set Sayuri and Natsuki down and asked them to help the others as Ichigo made his way to the stairway and headed for his bedroom. The door was open and Ichigo saw that Orihime had her back facing him and she seemed to be lost in thought. Ichigo stole up behind his wife to see what she was so absorbed with and noticed that it was a picture of her late brother, Sora. He noticed a few tears had splashed against the glass covering the picture as he leaned down and gently put his arms around his wife's shoulders.

Kissing the top of Orihime's head, Ichigo asked, "You all right?"

Orihime rested one hand on Ichigo's arms as she said, "I'm sorry."

Ichigo pressed his cheek against the side of her head as he said, "Don't be."

Orihime sat quietly for a moment and Ichigo knew that she was collecting her thoughts and allowed her that time.

Finally she said, "Today is Sora's birthday. I was just thinking about how much he would have loved to celebrate his birthday with all his nieces and nephews."

Ichigo smiled as he said, "He would have loved them because they all take after you."

Orihime playfully slapped Ichigo's hands as she said, "They take after their father more."

"I disagree, but we can argue the finer points another time," Ichigo kissed Orihime's forehead as he repeated his first question, "You all right?"

Orihime took a deep breath before she turned to her husband and said, "Yes, I feel much better thanks to you."

Ichigo began to lower his face in order to kiss Orihime, when he heard a mixture of muffled giggling and groans coming from the doorway.

Not bothering to turn around, Ichigo asked, "Sayuri?"

"Yes Daddy?" came the reply.

"This is also something that a boyfriend and husband can do."

With that he lowered his lips fully towards his wife's to a chorus of "Ew!", "Don't say that!", "I'm going downstairs." and "What are they doing?". It was like music to his ears.


End file.
